Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has responded to reports linking centre back Dedryck Boyata with a move away from the club.
The Daily Mail reported on Saturday that Premier League side Fulham were set to go back in for the Belgium international in January having failed in a move for him over the summer.
Rodgers has now admitted that teams are bound to have interest in the centre-back, but he doesn’t seem too fussed by the reports.
“I’m relaxed about it and not worried, really,” he said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “You can see that he’s a top-class player, so you have to expect that [speculation].
“Over my time here he’s grown and developed and improved, he’s a top-class defender for me and when he does the basics well he’s very, very good. I’m sure that teams will look at him – and really good sides.”
OPINION
This is a nice, realistic take on the situation from Rodgers. He knows that he manages Celtic not Real Madrid, and as such there will be bigger teams looking to poach his best players. Fulham, of course, went after Boyata in the summer but weren’t able to bring him in and now it appears that they are ready to make another move for the 27-year-old. The Celtic star has looked in fine fettle this season and that will obviously increase interest in his services, and Rodgers knows that. The Northern Irishman kind of seems like he’s speaking with an air of resignation about Boyata leaving the club. He sounds like he knows it’s going to happen and is merely trying to stay realistic about the whole thing. He gets in a little dig, though, suggesting that Boyata doesn’t always do the simple things well enough, which is a fair criticism. But he remains a top class player and one you can’t expect to stay at Parkhead forever.